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Fatal Shooting By Police Ruled Justified

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 22, 2009

A St. Petersburg police sergeant did not violate department policy when he fatally shot a former Cuban soldier in November who was armed with a firearm and machete, the sergeants' supervisors ruled this afternoon .

The shooting was ruled "justified," said St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Proffitt.

The decision comes one month after prosecutors also ruled Sgt. Karl Lounge's shooting of Roberto Garcia-Lara on Nov. 16 was justified.

On that Sunday evening, Garcia-Lara drew authorities' attention when he discharged his .45-caliber Desert Eagle handgun inside his bedroom at 6528 12th St. N., according to documents from the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office.

An alarm company called the home and Garcia-Lara's wife, Alice, said her husband had a gun and was pointing it at his head, the documents say. Garcia-Lara is heard in the background and sounds agitated, and he asks that the SWAT team not be summoned before he brings the call to the house to an end.

Two police officers soon arrived, the documents say. Outside they found Alice Garcia-Lara in tears. She told them her husband was on medication and had been drinking, the documents state.

One of the officers saw Garcia-Lara in the doorway chambering a round in a weapon that appeared to be "long," the documents state, and the officer radioed for more officers. One of the officers who heard the request was Sgt. Karl Lounge.

Lounge responded to the home with a Colt AR15 rifle, the documents say. According to the report, Garcia-Lara stepped out of the doorway and turned toward Lounge, leveling his gun at the officer, with a machete in the other hand.

Lounge fired three times, striking Garcia-Lara once in the abdomen and once in the pelvis.

An autopsy revealed Garcia-Lara had in his system diazepam, Nordiazepam, and the anti-depressant, Amitriptyline, the documents state. In addition, Garcia-Lara had a blood-alcohol percentage of .190 percent. A driver is presumed intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level is .08 or above.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336.

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